Internships

Are you interested in Fair Trade and want a fruitful professional experience? Join us as a trainee or a volunteer! WFTO-Europe will help you improve your knowledge making sure you get the most out of it. Check our open positions:

Volunteer

Even a few hours per week (on a regular basis) can make a difference for Fair Trade!

If you are interested in volunteering (working on specific areas such as fundraising, projects or communication), send your CV and a 1-page Cover Letter in English to administration@wfto-europe.org.

Volunteers are welcome at any time !

If you think you have other useful skills for WFTO-Europe, please do not hesitate to contact us via email at administration[at]wfto-europe.org.

Previous interns’ testimonials

Maria Batista

Intern in Brussels, January 2017 – July 2017

“I had the pleasure of working for WFTO-Europe as an intern and I had a truly incredible experience in the past 6 months. Working for a small organization granted me the opportunity to contribute to the organization’s performance in many different areas where I could develop my professional skills to a further extent by exploring different fields or work within the organization.

I acquired knowledge about the Fair Trade movement and I attended several EU events where I could gain insight on different topics related to International Development. What I liked the most about this internship was the fact that I had a coach who guided me through the different tasks but who would still ensure I carried out my job autonomously.

I would recommend this internship to anyone who is looking for a challenging job and willing to learn more about business ethics and worldwide issues!”

Stefano Carulli

Intern in Brussels, July 2016 – January 2017

“My experience as an intern at WFTO-Europe was truly rewarding.

Being part of a small team and working together on a day-to-day basis allowed me to explore a variety of different tasks: from managing a network of almost 90 European Fair Trade organizations to developing several communication strategies so as to raise awareness about the Fair Trade Principles.

However, what I liked the most was the approach of this office to its interns: I never felt disregarded by my team and my opinion was valued and always appreciated. The feedback received from my coordinator was extremely constructive and the synergy between the three of us gave me the chance to complete my tasks in autonomy and with enthusiasm.

If what you are looking for is a rewarding but the same time demanding experience in an international environment where you can develop both professionally as well as a person, then I would highly recommend an internship here at WFTO-Europe.

World Café is a specific discussion format, where people discuss topics in several groups. The main idea is that individuals switch groups periodically which allows them to discuss several topics during a single event. Each of the group is hosted by an expert from the field, in our case a representative of our partners mentioned above, to whom participants can pose questions.

Our “Business for a Fair World” World Café will be held on 11th October 2017 from 17:00 till 19:30 at ULB in Brussels, room H2213.

Besides the World Café itself, which will be the main part of our event, you can also look forward to a general presentation providing basic introduction about Fair Trade and its current role in Belgium, in particular as it seeks the title of Fair Trade nation. The event will close with the opportunity for some informal networking where Fair Trade juice will be served. For more information on program content, please take a look on the detailed agenda below.

World Café is a specific discussion format, where people discuss topics in several groups. The main idea is that individuals switch groups periodically which allows them to discuss several topics during a single event. Each of the group is hosted by an expert from the field, in our case a representative of our partners mentioned above, to whom participants can pose questions.

Our “Business for a Fair World” World Café will be held on 11th October 2017 from 17:00 till 19:30 at ULB in Brussels, room H2213.

Besides the World Café itself, which will be the main part of our event, you can also look forward to a general presentation providing basic introduction about Fair Trade and its current role in Belgium, in particular as it seeks the title of Fair Trade nation. The event will close with the opportunity for some informal networking where Fair Trade juice will be served. For more information on program content, please take a look on the detailed agenda below.

Internships

Are you interested in Fair Trade and want a fruitful professional experience? Join us as a trainee or a volunteer! WFTO-Europe will help you improve your knowledge making sure you get the most out of it. Check our open positions:

Volunteer

Even a few hours per week (on a regular basis) can make a difference for Fair Trade!

If you are interested in volunteering (working on specific areas such as fundraising, projects or communication), send your CV and a 1-page Cover Letter in English to administration@wfto-europe.org.

Volunteers are welcome at any time !

If you think you have other useful skills for WFTO-Europe, please do not hesitate to contact us via email at administration[at]wfto-europe.org.

Previous interns’ testimonials

Maria Batista

Intern in Brussels, January 2017 – July 2017

“I had the pleasure of working for WFTO-Europe as an intern and I had a truly incredible experience in the past 6 months. Working for a small organization granted me the opportunity to contribute to the organization’s performance in many different areas where I could develop my professional skills to a further extent by exploring different fields or work within the organization.

I acquired knowledge about the Fair Trade movement and I attended several EU events where I could gain insight on different topics related to International Development. What I liked the most about this internship was the fact that I had a coach who guided me through the different tasks but who would still ensure I carried out my job autonomously.

I would recommend this internship to anyone who is looking for a challenging job and willing to learn more about business ethics and worldwide issues!”

Stefano Carulli

Intern in Brussels, July 2016 – January 2017

“My experience as an intern at WFTO-Europe was truly rewarding.

Being part of a small team and working together on a day-to-day basis allowed me to explore a variety of different tasks: from managing a network of almost 90 European Fair Trade organizations to developing several communication strategies so as to raise awareness about the Fair Trade Principles.

However, what I liked the most was the approach of this office to its interns: I never felt disregarded by my team and my opinion was valued and always appreciated. The feedback received from my coordinator was extremely constructive and the synergy between the three of us gave me the chance to complete my tasks in autonomy and with enthusiasm.

If what you are looking for is a rewarding but the same time demanding experience in an international environment where you can develop both professionally as well as a person, then I would highly recommend an internship here at WFTO-Europe.

International Fair Trade Towns Conference in
Saarbrücken from the 14th/15th to 17th of September 2017

Stakeholders from around the globe in Saarbrücken
In keeping with the motto “Fair Trade across generations”, stakeholders from numerous countries will come together this September to discuss the latest developments in fair trade as well as their experiences and ideas concerning the Fair Trade Towns Campaign. The conference will be held in the cross-border region QuattroPole and will therefore also be taking place in Luxembourg and in France. As well as workshops for networking purposes on a European level and for enhancing project partnerships in the global South, there will be organised work groups on offer, concerned with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations and with various aspects of fair trade. Further topics will include innovations in social media, city marketing and positive collaboration between Fair Trade towns, schools as universities. All information about the conference and details about signing up can be found on the conference website www.quattrofair.org.

Fair Trade-Towns around the world
The Fair Trade Towns Campaign is a unique global movement in 30 countries. Approximately 2000 towns and cities around the world carry the Fair Trade Town title including London, Brussels, Rome, Saarbrücken, San Francisco and Copenhagen. Great Britain is considered the pioneer of the campaign as it is where the movement began in the year 2000 and it has since become a true model for success. In Germany, more than 480 communities carry the Fair Trade Town title. Fair Trade Towns promote fair trade on a community level and are the result of a successful network of individuals from civil society, politics and economy who take a stand for fair trade in their homes.

The Capital of Fair Trade

The host city of this year’s event, Saarbrücken, holds the title Capital of Fair Trade 2015. This award is given as part of the competition “Capital of Fair Trade” organised by the Service Agency Communities in One World. This year’s award winners will be selected prior to the International Fair Trade Towns Conference on the 14th of September 2017. As well as recognising the engagement demonstrated by the participating communities, this year’s competition will award 200,000 Euros split across five winning communities. In addition, there will be a further five prizes in the value of 10,000 Euros awarded to selected outstanding individual projects. More details can be found at http://www.faire-hauptstadt.de

The conference is organised by the Fairtrade Initiative Saarbrücken (FIS, http://www.faires-saarbruecken.de) and the QuattroFair partner organisations in Luxembourg, Metz and Trier. The conference will take place in cooperation with the International Fair Trade Towns Steering Committee, Fairtrade International and the World Fair Trade Organization.

Last Wednesday, the 2nd of August, was calculated as the Earth Overshoot Day (previously known as Ecological Debt Day), which is a specific point of the year when human overall consumption exceeds the capacity of Earth natural resources generated for that particular year. It means that from that day on we, as humans, live on ecological debt for the rest of the year. Of course, this is a debt which is (almost) impossible to pay.

This year the Earth Overshoot Day came one day earlier than last year, illustrating thus a trend which has existed for decades.

To calculate the exact date, the Global Footprint Network determines Earth´s biocapacity and divides this by the world ecological footprint we have made. The final date is then calculated by multiplying the quotient by number of the days of the year.

The key component for calculation of the Earth Overshoot Day is thus human consumption represented by the world ecological footprint. This is an ecological concept taking into account all human consumption of natural resources and converting it into the number of so called global hectares necessary for securing our needs. This can be calculated for individuals, cities, nations or the whole world. Based on this year’s calculations, current world population would need 1,7 planets to secure its needs for this year (at the current level of consumption).

Simply put: we must practice responsible consumption and attempt to reduce our individual ecological footprint. Sometimes little things are enough – using public transport rather than a car, walking more often, turning off the lights, not producing unnecessery waste, or sourcing daily products locally and buying Fair Trade products.

Responsible consumption and production is one of the Sustainable Development Goals introduced by United Nations in 2015 and Respect for the Envrionment is also one of the Ten Principles of Fair Trade used by WFTO. In WFTO-Europe we support producers and organizations which maximize the use of raw materials from sustainably managed sources in their ranges and minimize their impact on the environment. All members of WFTO are comitted to the environement, and it is essential that we work to keep our ecological usage to a minimum.

European FairTrade Shuttle!

WFTO Europe @ home

Feedback on WFTO-Europe AGM

On behalf of WFTO-Europe Board of Directors and staff, I would like to thank once more the people and members’ organisations who made our first ONLINE Annual General Meeting (AGM) a real success.

As stated in the letter sent to all of you by our President (Giorgio Dal Fiume), “we were glad to see that we do not only reach the needed quorum to validate our AGM, but – much more relevant – we got an attentive participation of the people beyond the display, who raised up several questions and comments. We were delighted to feel a very warm, friendly and trustful atmosphere during the meeting, which is for us the most relevant ingredient to feed the relationship between the WFTO-Europe Board and its members, as well as the most important goal to achieve”.

The minutes of the AGM, which was held on the 21st of June 2017 via GoToMeeting (an online platform) are accessible to all the members in the Internal “members section” of the WFTO-Europe website. (Should you have any problems to log in, please send an email to communication[at]wfto-europe.org)

I also would like to take this opportunity to remind you the Extraordinary AGM will take place in New Delhi on the 12 of November 2017, during the WFTO Biennial Conference. Five new Board members will be appointed at that time. Hence, I do encourage you to register as soon as possible to the Conference in Delhi as well as to send to administration[at]wfto-europe.org your candidature if you are interested in taking over the role of Board member within our organisation.

In the last issue of our newsletter, we shared the results from our survey on how members relate Fair Trade to the Annual Topic of Migration. The results showed that some members already work on the topic. That is why we would like to dedicate this session on our Newsletter to present you their activities, which are great examples on how Fair Trade relates to Migration.

One strong case on this, is the activities of our member EZA Fairer Handel GmbH in Austria. They have been engaged in two main actions on migration: a “Drop Earring Not Bombs” project as well as a Cooperation and Producer Tour with representatives from Fair Trade Lebanon for the World Fair Trade Day (WFTDay).

The “Drop Earring Not Bombs” project aims at employing Syrian refugees in Turkey to produce earrings. These are sold as handmade jewellery that tell unique stories and make a meaningful impact on the lives of refugees who do not have the ability to work in Turkey. EZA Fairer Handel GmbH has been supporting the initiative. They purchased an order of 2000 earrings to sell in the Austrian world shops. They also produced communication material to raise awareness about the project.

The Cooperation and Producer Tour with representatives from Fair Trade Lebanon for WFTDay had three aims. Firstly, to inform the general public about the situation concerning refugees in Lebanon. Secondly, to raise awareness about the engagement of FT Lebanon to prevent migration within their country by providing people in the rural area income. This was made possible by growing and processing traditional Lebanese products such as those imported by EZA Fairer Handel GmbH. Furthermore, by training Syrian women on how to process food as an income generating activity especially after their return to Syria. Thirdly, to promote the products made by the cooperative Fourzol (and other FT Lebanon products) as well as the work of the cooperative Fourzol.

The activities to reach these aims focused on inviting representatives to come to Austria for 8 days where EZA Fairer Handel GmbH organized several public events and interviews with the press. EZA Fairer Handel GmbH also promoted the products on FT Lebanon around WFTDay.

The inspirational work of EZA Fairer Handel GmbH shows Migration is another of the many issues that can be addressed with Fair Trade.

Europe in a nutshell

On the 10th of May 2017, WFTO-Europe and other actors from our network had the pleasure to attend an event at the European Parliament (EP) organized by the Fair Trade Advocacy Office. The event addressed the potential to link Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to Fair Trade producers in the South for the enhancement of sustainable value chains.

The event was hosted by MEP Bernd Lange, Chair of the EP Committee on International Trade, and MEP Dita Charanzová, Vice-Chair of the EP Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.

The first part of the programme consisted of a Workshop “Linking Fair Trade producers to small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): existing initiatives and challenges” presenting different case studies. For example, Ms. Jane Katahwire Mbabazi, Vice President of the Ankole Coffee Producers Cooperative Limited (ACPCU) came all the way from Uganda to present their work and societal impact as a Fair Trade coffee producer. Also WFTO-Europe’s member Equo Garantito, represented by its General Manager Ms. Eleonora Dal Zotto together with Ms Silvia Fontana, Marketing Manager at GALA Cosmetici, had the chance to present how an Italian SME specialised in natural cosmetics can cooperate with a Fair Trade Organisation.

The second part was an exciting panel discussion and open debate on how the EU can improve its support to partnerships between Fair Trade producers and SMEs. One of the points made was that Fair Trade should not merely be a niche market but that it should be scaled up to be the general market.

The event ended with a Fair Trade cocktail at the European Parliament Salons. This part was opened with speeches from WFTO Chief Executive Natalia Leal and Fair Trade International Chief Executive Officer Dario Soto. Both speakers stressed that Fair Trade is not just a label, it is also a concept. The label is a tool to ensure this.

WFTO-Europe at the EDDs: Linking Fair Trade to the Sustainable Development Goals

In the beginning of June, WFTO-Europe participated in the European Development Days. Here, we shared a stand with Fair Trade Advocacy Office and Fair Trade International promoting Fair Trade as the way to Sustainable Development. Furthermore, we attended sessions together with some of the most important decision makers and advocates in the world: Presidents (from Norway, Ghana, Senegal, Bolivia and other countries), UN and EU representatives, NGO representatives, young leaders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and professors.

The agenda focused greatly on the involvement of the private sector and SMEs to achieve the Sustainable development Goals. Several sessions were on exactly this topic discussing how entrepreneurship in developing countries is one the ways to fight poverty and how sustainable business is the way to fight climate change.

Is was a true inspiration for the WFTO-Europe team to experience this market-based approach to development as it is in strong alignment with the Fair Trade Principles. The Fair Trade movement aims to fight poverty by creating opportunities to disadvantaged producers linking SDG 1 with Fair Trade Principle 1. Therefore, sessions focusing on creating economic development through agriculture were directly linked to our work in the Fair Trade Movement.

Other sessions focused on the power of female entrepreneurs in developing countries and the challenges they face with being women. These women do not only contribute to the achievement of SDG 1 and Fair Trade Principle 1, they also create gender equality and reduce discrimination achieving SDG 5 and Fair Trade Principle 6. At WFTO, we have recognized the huge potential of working women which let to our global campaign on International Women´s Day 2017 shedding lights on the unfair disadvantages women face in the workplace.

The agenda even included sessions specifically focusing on issues in the fashion industry and how to achieve the SDGs through ethical fashion. Sessions included representatives from Vivienne Westwood, Ethical Fashion Initiative, Danish Fashion Institute and Milano Fashion Institute. Here, we learned that ethical fashion is not only a trend, it is a new business model with an annual billion dollar potential that the industry must embrace, not only for profitable reasons but also to achieve sustainable development.

All in all, the European Development Days demonstrated that our “Trade Not Aid” approach is a strong way to create sustainable development emphasizing that the SDGs cannot be done without having everyone on board – we need the private sector as well as citizens.

This is a great confirmation of how important our network is and gives us the motivation to keep working for Sustainable Development through Fair Trade.

WFTO around the World

Biennial Conference in Delhi Updates

Update 1: Mohammed Islam Design Awards: Call for entries

Just a quick reminder that WFTO is accepting entries for the 9th Mohammed Islam Design awards. Deadline is 30 October 2017. You may choose to submit up to one entry for each of the five categories:

Best new home ware product (including household textiles)

Best new fashion accessory (which may include jewellery)

Best new product made of recycled materials

Best new consumer food or beverage packaging

Best new Christmas decoration

Show your amazing products!

Kindly read the instructions first before submitting entries. Read here.
Please use the online form to submit entries, click here.

Update 2: Member’s registration fee does not apply to suspended members

Suspended members are not eligible to register for the WFTO Conference in Delhi using the discounted member’s registration rate. For queries on the Guarantee System requirements, contact membership@wfto.com; for queries about the WFTO fee payment, contact administration@wfto.com. For queries on the Delhi conference, please contact delhi2017@wfto.com.

Update 3: Hotel accommodation: no more single rooms available

More than 60% of the rooms available at the Crowne Plaza for the conference period (between 9 to 13 November 2017) have already been booked. In addition, the hotel venue has run out of single rooms allocated to the WFTO Conference. There is a waiting list, in case a single room becomes available, but there is no guarantee. If you want to be included in the list, please contact delhi2017@wfto.com.

Update 4: WFTO-Europe AGM will take place on the 12th of November in New Delhi.

International Fair Trade Towns Conference 2017

The 11th International Fair Trade Towns Conference will be held on the 14-17th September in Saarbrucken, Germany. There are until now almost 2000 Fair Trade Towns in 31 countries on five continents, a meaningful numbers that continues to grow. This is something to celebrate in September!

With the main site in Germany, the conference will be held in four cities in three European countries: Luxembourg City in Luxemburg, Metz in France as well as Saarbrücken and Trier in Germany. This will be made in corporation with the three national Fair Trade Towns campaigns.

Fair Trade Across Generation

This year, the conference theme will be ‘Fair Trade Across Generations’ emphasizing on how the Fair Trade movement reaches all generations and initiates partnerships on a local, regional and international level. Furthermore, Fair Trade’s commitment to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is critical for a worthy future for our next generations.

WFTO will be among the panelists to raise awareness of our Guarantee System and label.

The WFTO Guarantee System

Update on WFTO-Europe membership and GS status

Dear members,

We are proud to inform you that right now around 35Organizations in our network successfully passed through the WFTO Guarantee System while the others are at different steps of the process. At the regional level, WFTO-Europe is processing 5 monitoring applications while we are managing 5 new membership requests.

As agreed in the WFTO-Europe AGM in 2015, WFTO-Europe has finalised and made available to European members the list of FT unverified suppliers so as to foster collaboration and synergy amongst the members.

News from the Region

WFTO-Europe attended the Belgian Fair Trade Federation’s Business Day together with Fair Trade Advocacy Office and Fair Trade Belgium. Here, Francesca Giubilo presented about the Guarantee System and value of our network.

News from the Board

The last board meeting was held on the 6th of July in Brussels. Please log in here if you want to access all the Board Meetings held by WFTO-Europe. The next one is planned to take place on 26th of July, via Skype.

Member in the Spotlight: Les Jardins de Gaïa

It was in 1994 that Arlette Rohmer set up Les Jardins de Gaïa, guided by her passion for tea, organic farming and biodynamics, and so began a personal adventure filled with wonderful encounters in the four corners of the world.

These encounters, the result of a genuine commitment, have resulted in lasting relationships with producers, who for the most part have become friends and have allowed the Alsace-based company to gradually build up an exceptional range of organic and fair-trade teas and herbal teas.

Les Jardins de Gaïa is aimed both at tea novices and connoisseurs, with a diversity which is unique in the market, ranging from the classics to the rarest and most precious leaves!

Whether the teas are plain or flavoured, white, green, oolong, black, rooibos or herbal, what they have in common is that they are organic, for the most part fair-trade and increasingly biodynamic.

Jardins de Gaïa are now leaders in the French market for organic and fair-trade teas and herbal teas and are developing numerous projects abroad.

The company’s well-known speciality: original, sparkling and poetic “in-house recipes” created and produced in Alsace – are hand-made at the production site, or by local eSATS (assistance and service centres helping disabled people into work). Because the company works with raw materials which come, for the most part, from faraway countries, one of its primary objectives is to support the local economy and local jobs.

Another sign of its commitment, the “Militant Teas and Rooibos” range is one of its flagship lines and emblematic of the brand. Les Jardins de Gaïa gives a share of the profits from the sale of these products to its favourite charities for which these recipes were created. Whether it’s helping to set up young farmers, providing training courses for the protection of bees, helping to set up micro-enterprises or giving seeds to disadvantaged farmers -every tube or packet sold gives them a bit more support.

At the same time, a partnership committee works at the heart of the company. Every year it works to support various cultural and associative causes, for the benefit of children – or more generally for mankind and the planet, though donations or patronage.

Finally, the Tea House, on the Les Jardins de Gaïa premises, is dedicated to the ancestral art of preparing and drinking tea. At the crossroads between East and West, open to the world and to tea, it was designed to promote contemplation among visitors. There are exhibitions of photos, paintings, ceramics, etc., and traditional Chinese and Japanese tea ceremonies are regularly organised in the tea pavilion.

In this calm and restful place, the visitor has the opportunity to taste delicious blends, some of which are unique, and bring the magic home by exploring the range available in the shop. Truly an exotic and Zen journey in the heart of Alsace!

Member in the Spotlight: Les Jardins de Gaïa

It was in 1994 that Arlette Rohmer set up Les Jardins de Gaïa, guided by her passion for tea, organic farming and biodynamics, and so began a personal adventure filled with wonderful encounters in the four corners of the world.

These encounters, the result of a genuine commitment, have resulted in lasting relationships with producers, who for the most part have become friends and have allowed the Alsace-based company to gradually build up an exceptional range of organic and fair-trade teas and herbal teas.

Les Jardins de Gaïa is aimed both at tea novices and connoisseurs, with a diversity which is unique in the market, ranging from the classics to the rarest and most precious leaves!

Whether the teas are plain or flavoured, white, green, oolong, black, rooibos or herbal, what they have in common is that they are organic, for the most part fair-trade and increasingly biodynamic.

Jardins de Gaïa are now leaders in the French market for organic and fair-trade teas and herbal teas and are developing numerous projects abroad.

The company’s well-known speciality: original, sparkling and poetic “in-house recipes” created and produced in Alsace – are hand-made at the production site, or by local eSATS (assistance and service centres helping disabled people into work). Because the company works with raw materials which come, for the most part, from faraway countries, one of its primary objectives is to support the local economy and local jobs.

Another sign of its commitment, the “Militant Teas and Rooibos” range is one of its flagship lines and emblematic of the brand. Les Jardins de Gaïa gives a share of the profits from the sale of these products to its favourite charities for which these recipes were created. Whether it’s helping to set up young farmers, providing training courses for the protection of bees, helping to set up micro-enterprises or giving seeds to disadvantaged farmers -every tube or packet sold gives them a bit more support.

At the same time, a partnership committee works at the heart of the company. Every year it works to support various cultural and associative causes, for the benefit of children – or more generally for mankind and the planet, though donations or patronage.

Finally, the Tea House, on the Les Jardins de Gaïa premises, is dedicated to the ancestral art of preparing and drinking tea. At the crossroads between East and West, open to the world and to tea, it was designed to promote contemplation among visitors. There are exhibitions of photos, paintings, ceramics, etc., and traditional Chinese and Japanese tea ceremonies are regularly organised in the tea pavilion.

In this calm and restful place, the visitor has the opportunity to taste delicious blends, some of which are unique, and bring the magic home by exploring the range available in the shop. Truly an exotic and Zen journey in the heart of Alsace!

Last week, WFTO-Europe participated in the European Development Days together with some of the most important decision makers and advocates in the world: Presidents (from Norway, Ghana, Senegal, Bolivia and other countries), UN and EU representatives, NGO representatives, young leaders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and professors.

The agenda focused greatly on the involvement of the private sector and SMEs to achieve the Sustainable development Goals. Several sessions were on exactly this topic discussing how entrepreneurship in developing countries is one the ways to fight poverty and how sustainable business is the way to fight climate change.

Is was a true inspiration for the WFTO-Europe team to experience this market-based approach to development as it is in strong alignment with the Fair Trade Principles. The Fair Trade movement aims to fight poverty by creating opportunities to disadvantaged producers linking SDG 1 with Fair Trade Principle 1. Therefore, sessions focusing on creating economic development through agriculture were directly linked to our work in the Fair Trade Movement.

Other sessions focused on the power of female entrepreneurs in developing countries and the challenges they face with being women. These women do not only contribute to the achievement of SDG 1 and Fair Trade Principle 1, they also create gender equality and reduce discrimination achieving SDG 5 and Fair Trade Principle 6. At WFTO, we have recognized the huge potential of working women which let to our global campaign on International Women´s Day 2017 shedding lights on the unfair disadvantages women face in the workplace.

The agenda even included sessions specifically focusing on issues in the fashion industry and how to achieve the SDGs through ethical fashion. Sessions included representatives from Vivienne Westwood, Ethical Fashion Initiative, Danish Fashion Institute and Milano Fashion Institute. Here, we learned that ethical fashion is not only a trend, it is a new business model with an annual billion dollar potential that the industry must embrace, not only for profitable reasons but also to achieve sustainable development.

All in all, the European Development Days demonstrated that our “Trade Not Aid” approach is a strong way to create sustainable development emphasizing that the SDGs cannot be done without having everyone on board – we need the private sector as well as citizens.

Everyone plays a crucial role in the achievement of Sustainable Development. Become an Agent for Change and become a part of the achievement already today.

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